UPDATE!!
In April 2006 we returned and got a preview of EXCITING NEW THINGS we'll soon be
seeing from Kentucky Bourbon Distillers. See more at the end of this page!

Kentucky Bourbon
DistillersThe Willett DistilleryBardstown, Kentucky

PERCHED ON A HILLTOP just outside of Bardstown, Kentucky, sit the
cold remains of what was once the Willett Distillery,
proud makers of Johnny Drum and Old Bardstown bourbons.
Cold, but not abandoned, however. For this is the home of some of the world's
finest bourbon whiskey -- and most of it is totally unknown in the United
States. It's also the domain of one of bourbon's most hidden and reclusive
masters, Even Kulsveen.

The Willett distillery was built shortly after the repeal of Prohibition
by brothers Thompson and Johnny Willett, and it became the family distillery,
with several Willetts involved off and on, for over thirty years. Their signature
brands were Old Bardstown, which is now produced by Heaven Hill, and Johnny
Drum, which they now bottle for overseas sales only. They were pretty much
a local distillery, selling mostly in Kentucky, and during the gasoline
crisis in the 1970's they converted the distillery to produce alcohol for
gasohol fuel and stopped making bourbon entirely. America's success at overcoming
that situation was unfortunate for the Willetts, however, and the distillery
closed down, never to produce beverage alcohol again. The bourbon-distilling
equipment and machinery have been torn out and salvaged, and most of the buildings have
been razed. All that remains is what was used for the fuel alcohol distillery.
And the bottling line from which some really fine bottles of whiskey originate.

Even Kulsveen (originally from Norway, I believe) entered the story as a
result of marrying Thompson Willett's daughter, Martha. In the mid-to-late
eighties he appears to have tried bringing the family distillery back to
life. This was a time when the foreign market for American bourbon was beginning
to boom, especially the Japanese market due to their sudden rush of financial
fortune. Even began bottling the old remaining Willett stock in classic
and prestigious-looking packages, with labels reminiscent of hand-written
wine labels, and selling the products in Japan and Europe. This was not the
best time for establishing new brands in the American market, and he didn't
attempt to do so.
Only a few years later, single-barrel and small batch
bourbons would become the rage here as well, but Even has never had much
of an interest in developing an American market. It may be worth noting that
both Even's Kentucky Bourbon Distillers and Jim Beam Brands use the
exact same proprietary phrase, "Small Batch Bourbon" to describe their respective
collections of four brands. Whether such competitive maneuvers have contributed
to Even's taciturn profile is speculative, or course, but interesting.

Establishing a market for new brands of bourbon is a difficult and expensive
task, and although Even has wanted, from the very beginning, to rebuild the
Willett distillery and start making bourbon again, that hasn't happened yet.
The original old Willett stock eventually ran out, and he has been buying
bourbon from other distilleries to bottle under his brand names. That's not
such an unusual situation; there are only eight bourbon distillers (seven
after Seagram's closes), and many different brands. Some of the most respected
bourbons in the world are bottled by bourbon men whose mastery is in their
ability to select and mix to reach the flavor profiles they seek.
The very best of these can produce a variety of
distinctive bourbons, each unique, but with a signature flavor common to
all of them.
Even Kulsveen is among those masters.

We've enjoyed Even's bourbon almost as long as we've been drinking bourbon,
and his products have always sat in the top row of our favorites list. But
nowhere can any information be found about him, save for a snippet here,
a rumor there, a trademark license application, a chance meeting. Even doesn't
participate in the Kentucky Bourbon Festival events, doesn't do tastings,
doesn't answer mail. A few weeks ago, John managed to catch him by finding
the telephone number of the Kentucky Bourbon Distillers office and phoning
him directly. John explained that we're bourbon enthusiasts, that we love
his products and want to learn more about the man behind the label. Even
said that's nice. John asked if there were a time we could visit with him
for awhile and talk. Even asked when we were coming. He seemed to be relieved
that John was talking of a future date, and suggested we call next time we're
in town and maybe he'll be available. In all fairness to Even, this unsolicited
phone call from a total stranger was all he knew about us. Unfortunately,
it still is.

On the internet forum where we often participate, there has been much discussion
about Even and his bourbons. One of the forum members, Brenda Piercefield, is a
local resident of Bardstown, and she volunteered to find out more about the
Willett operation. Visiting the site in person, she also came away with very
little new knowledge. She didn't see anyone, and no one answered when she walked
in the main door and yelled. But she did get some photos of the buildings. When
she reported that to the forum members, we knew we could never think of
exploring there without inviting her along with us.

This afternoon, as we wait for Brenda to meet us at the Getz Museum, John
calls the office three times, and speaks to a pleasant young lady who tells
him, the first time, that Even is in, but unavailable at the moment.
The second time he calls, she puts him through to Even's line. John waits
for several minutes and then the line goes dead. Of course, it could have
been the cell phone batteries -- they are low. He hooks up the adapter and
tries again. This time, however, he just lets her know that we'll be dropping
by and that we'd like to see Even.

Brenda, who has been to the distillery before, leads us out Loretto Road
past the Heaven Hill site. We turn left into the driveway and as we begin
up the gravel road that leads up the hill, Even comes barreling down in
his car. We have to swerve to avoid being run over. He doesnt even
stop to ask what we are doing in his driveway  he just continues out
and up the road. Brenda shouts to us, "thats him!", but we
dont bother to chase him. We just continue on up the hill to
the distillery. Brenda shows us the unmarked door into the packing house
where the main offices are located. Like she did before, we call up the stairs,
and this time a man appears at the top and tells us the office is there.

The office of Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, like that of Charles Medleys
distillery in Owensboro, is decorated in a style we refer to as "early
explosion". Paperwork ranging from printed flyers to invoices to scribbled
sheets are piled in large stacks which are, themselves, made up of smaller
stacks,
all over. There are desks under some of
the stacks, but they are barely visible. Here and there, partially-filled sample
bottles can be found. On the walls are advertisements, made only for Japan and
Europe. Two very large (almost billboard-sized) museum-quality haute art
photography posters advertising Johnny Drum dominate the inner office walls.
They don't look like whiskey ads you'd expect to see in America; they look more
like Calvin Klein ads or art gallery fare.
The elegantly printed text is in
Japanese.

Within this den of clutter we meet Lillian Metcalf, who turns out
to be a very gracious hostess to three odd strangers who’ve burst nearly
unannounced into to her busy workday. Kentucky Bourbon Distillers does market
four products in the United States, but only on a very limited basis. They are
Noah’s Mill, Rowan’s Creek, Pure Kentucky, and Kentucky Vintage. They also
bottle some products for other marketers, such as Jefferson Reserve, Sam
Houston, and Peter Jake’s. Other brands which we know to be theirs
include Corner Creek and Kentucky Pride (both of which we know to be available
in the U.S. and to be brands owned by Even Kulsveen, despite Lillian's denials).
It's not easy listing their brands, because due to contractual agreements with
the people for whom they bottle, and the general reluctance of this organization
to share any information, they won’t discuss them or even acknowledge them. Most
of their products are sold only overseas, and Lillian is quite surprised (and a
little alarmed) to learn that we were familiar with brands such as Johnny Drum,
or packaging such as the bottle of Kentucky Vintage in our collection that came
in a blue satin bag (Pure Kentucky normally comes in the blue satin bag, but
Vintage is sold only in a white burlap bag… in the U.S. that is; only the
product that is shipped to France is supposed to have a blue satin bag). We
spend quite awhile talking with Lillian, and undoubtedly learn a lot more than
we ever would have had we spoken to Even instead. Still, we certainly would have
considered it an honor to have been able to chat
with the man responsible for such fine bourbons.

Well, maybe next time...

April 27-29,
2006
... saw you just the other day; my, how you have grown

IT ISthe spring of 2006, and we have another opportunity to
visit the Willett distillery site, this time under quite different
circumstances. The next generation of the Kulsveen/Willett family has joined
their father and the impression we get is that of watching (and feeling) the
second stage of a lunar rocket light off. Drew Kulsveen, his sister Brit, and
her husband Hunter Chavanne have invited us to visit the distillery and see what is being
done there today.

We meet them at the Bourbons Bistro restaurant in Louisville on
Wednesday night, where several of us who communicate through the
http://bourbonenthusiast.com
discussion forum joined up on their al fresco patio. Among the group are
Ben and LeNell Smothers, owners of LeNell's, Ltd. wine & spirits in Brooklyn,
NY. LeNell, who brings her sweet southern drawl and cowgirl boots all the way
from Alabama, campaigns endlessly (and pretty successfully -- or is that
successfully pretty?) to educate N'Yawkers in the finer points of bourbon and
rye appreciation.
Among
other things, the Smothers' are here to select a single barrel of 23-year-old
rye whiskey to be bottled under their own label. They have selected Kentucky
Bourbon Distillers to be their vendor. They have also invited us to help them
select the barrel from among dozens available to them. We are totally thrilled
at the prospect. That will be on Saturday.

For tonight, we have brought with us, as we always do when there
is a chance we'll run into a Kulsveen, a fiddle-shaped pint bottle of Old
Bardstown bourbon. The bottle is full and sealed, and dates from around 1953,
when the Willett family made that whiskey. It's the only bottle of original
Willett bourbon we've ever seen, and the only example any of us ever had,
including Drew, Brit, and Hunter. We were so thrilled to be able to offer it to
them to open and share (remember, we don't collect whiskey -- that's what
museums are for -- we collect tastes of whiskey). And it's pretty
obvious that the Kulsveens are equally thrilled. And for those not fortunate
enough to be here, yes, the whiskey is excellent. A five-year-old, Old Bardstown
wasn't a "premium" bourbon in its day, but it was more flavorful than many of
today's super-premiums. They simply don't make bourbon like that anymore,
because it costs too much.
But
Drew says they still have the original recipes and could reproduce that whiskey,
perhaps as a higher priced specialty that would be appreciated more by
enthusiasts than by the mainstream bourbon drinker that was its original target
group.

In addition to maintaining the company's current position as a
premier vendor and bottler for prestige private brands, Drew and Brit are actively bringing
their family's dream of restarting the Willett distillery to reality.

Of course, we've heard such dreams before. Charles and Sam Medley.
Cecil Withrow.
Various owners and owner-wannabbees of Stitzel-Weller and Michter's.
It's easy to dream, but nearly impossible to accomplish.
Nearly.

We have seen the future of the Willett distillery, and it gleams like a copper
kettle. Like more than one copper kettle, in fact, along with a few stainless
steel fermenting tanks, grain mills, a steam boiler, and other equipment. Oh,
and did we mention the new buildings, built on the original foundations?

We are here with a group of friends who are all American whiskey hobbyists. In
addition to Linda and John are Mike Veach, our historian friend, JD and Kirsten
Knaebel from Indiana and another whiskeylover we've met via the whiskey
discussion forum at http://bourbonenthusiast.com, who we know as ChuckMick.

Oh, and of course we could NEVER think of returning to the
Willett distillery without Brenda (agent Scully), so you know she's here! By the way,
Brenda has an excellent webpage oriented toward bourbon, and Bardstown... and
COOKING! These are all things that Johns and Lindas like, and you can find more
about them here:

Unfortunately, we are asked please not to bring our cameras...
yet. When we get there it immediately becomes obvious why -- there is a great
deal of construction going on, and things are very messy; plus, there are some
real surprises in store, and it's important that they be presented when the
project is closer to completion.

And what a project! The first thing we notice, from a couple of football fields
away, is the massive horizontal cedar plank siding on the new distillery
building. The siding is impressive even at that distance, and is made more so as
we approach the building and set that it is set off against absolutely gorgeous
stonework facing the rest of the building. The stone facing project is the work
of a single master stonemason, who has been working on it for about two years.
The look is different from that of the Woodford Reserve distillery in
Versailles, which has more of a stone block appearance. The Willett distillery's
stone is darker, and more roughly textured, giving the look of field stones. But
very clean field stones. There is no doubt that this facility will rival the
Woodford Reserve site for the beauty of its restoration.

Inside, the distillery will be even more impressive. Originally built right
after the repeal of national prohibition, it was never intended to be a
showplace. But in its new incarnation that's exactly what it will be. The
distillery building, like all the buildings, is being rebuilt from the original
foundations up, and that means even the concrete floors have been ripped out and
replaced with brick. The entrance consists of two immense doors, or at least it
will when they're finished being constructed. Right now there are only plywood
placeholders. When completed, the entranceway will be finished in hand-carved French oak, a
tribute to the Willett family's French roots, with the threshold cut from blue granite, native
to the Kulsveen family's Norway.

There is a stairway leading to the second level walkways, and it ends in a
platform that will be a viewing area where a visitor could sit and overlook the
processing going on. Such a visitor would be able to see the mills and storage
bins, capable of handling not just the normal corn, rye, and malt, but also a
fourth grain, giving the distillery the capability of producing every known
variety of American whiskey, as well as recipes that have yet to be developed.
Remember, this distillery's customers are primarily brand owners who need to
have whiskey made to their specifications. The best distillery for that purpose
is the one that has the ability to produce whiskeys that have never existed
before.

And to that end, we have the stills. The original Willett column still, although
not suitable for ethanol distilling, was never actually removed. It has been
now, but only to allow for testing and whatever repairs may be needed. It is
expected to be returned to service, good as new, within a week or two (meaning
before you read this). The testing is being done at Vendome in Louisville, the
premier maker of whiskey (and other) stills, who were the original
manufacturers. When it is reinstalled it will join the other still, which is
already on site. Also crafted by Vendome, this is a true pot still, of the type
that hasn't been seen in bourbon production for many decades. In 1996, the
Brown-Forman company installed a set of three genuine copper pot stills in their
Woodford Reserve (then Labrot and Graham) distillery. They were custom-made by
Forbes in Scotland, and adapted to the making of bourbon whiskey. The Willett
pot still, also genuine copper, is a single still, made by Vendome in
Louisville, and was constructed specifically for making bourbon and rye whiskey.
It is a beautiful piece of equipment and a joy to behold. It is not a
"one-barrel-a-day" tourist attraction. This still means business, and its
existence makes it clear that the Willett distillery is serious about its role
as provider of whatever type of distillation a prospective client needs.

Not to mention brands that Willet will be making on their own. Drew showed us
the bottle they have had designed for their own "Willett" brand. As far as we
know, there never was a "Willett" brand, as such. The pride that Drew and his
sister show in this endeavor is overwhelming. You can't spend more than a few
minutes with either (let alone both) of them without catching some of the same
excitement.

As the project gets closer to completion, we will likely be able to visit again
-- with camera -- and it will be so interesting to show the new facility. We'll
probably leave this page intact, though, just so we can share the fun we had,
trying to sneak a peek at one of the most important makers of bourbon whiskey in
the business.